Subaqueous tunnel and method of constructing same.



No. 629,135. J Patentedluly 18,4899.

I L. NIXON & w. H. KNIGHT.-

SUBAUUEOUS TUNNEL AND METHOD OF GONSTRUCTiNG SANE.

(Application filed Bar. 23, 1899.) (No Model.) 3 Sheets$hget i.

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No. 629,135. Patented Juiy 18, I899.

' L. NIXON & w. a. KNIGHT.

SUBAQUEOUS TUNNEL AND METHUU 0F CONSTRUCTING SAME.

(Application filed Mgr. 23, 1899 i (Io lam.) 3 sheetsshen 3.

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UNITED S T- S PATENT Omen.

LEWIS NIXON Ann WALTER n.- "KNIGHT, on NEW YORK, n; Y.

'su A Qu Eous TUNNEL AND METHOD OFICONSTRUGTING SAME.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 629,135, dated J u1yl8,1899. Appliation an March 23, 1899. Serial No. 710,188. (No model.)

To all whom it may-concern:

Be it known that We,'LEWIS NIXON, residing at New York, in the county ofNew York,

and WALTER H. KNIGHT, residing at New without recourse to the costlyprocess of underground excavation or tunnel-driving.

We form the tunnel-sections of such mate rial and proportions that whenthey are closed at the ends and dropped-into the water they will presentlittle, if any, fiotative efiect, so that they can readily be sunk totheir final positions and then joined together. On then connecting themto terminal approaches and removing the ends or caps of each section anopen tunnel comparatively free from water results, and such tunnel whenloaded with the usual appurtenances of a permanent way and with theextra weight of the j oint-closin g instrumentalities is of sufiicientweight to entirely overcome the flotative efiect due to the waterdisplacement and to rest stably and permanently in its bed. By thismethod of procedurea large part of the pumping out of the sunken tunnelis obviated.

We prefer toform the tunnel or each section thereof of an outer tube orshell of steel, one or more inner tubes surrounded by said shell, and afilling of cement or cemented material in the space between said innertubes and the outer shell. Each section of the tunnel is also preferablyprovided with means at one end f'or engaging with the adjacent end ofthe next section to facilitate alinement and joining up, 'and means arealso preferably provided for enabling access to the interior of eachsection after it is in the water and be fore the, sectionen'ds have beenopened.

Our-invention consists in the special construction of thetunnel-sections for facilitating and efiecting the connection orjunction of the sections and in other features of constructiou,ashereinafter set forth and claimed.

' In the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification,Figure 1 is a perspective view of a tunnel-section, showing alsotheadjacent end of the adjoining section. Fig. 2 is atransverse sectionof the tunnelsection, and Fig; 3 is a'longitudinal section of a portionthereof. Fig. 4 shows the manner of putting the tunnel-sections inplace. Figs. 5 and 6 areresp'ectively' transverse and longitudinalsections of the tunnel, showing it in place. Fig. 7 shows a means ofsecuring access to the tunnel. Figs. 8 and 9 show a modification. Fig.10 shows the preferred manner of constructing the terminal approaches tothe tunnel;

The tunnel-sections are preferably formed, as shown in Fig. 1, of anouter cylinder A of suitable metal, such as wrought-iron, andone ormore, preferably two, inner cylinders B of similar material, which areconnected to and supported in the outer cylinder by means of theendplates C, closing the spaces at the end between the outer and innercylinders, and any additional cross plates and braces that may bedesirable. The inner tubes or cylinders 13 are preferably closed at eachend by disk-shaped bulkheads D D, which may have flanges cl bolted tothe said inner tubes.

A turret E is preferably formed on the outer casing or cylinder A andcommunicates with one of the inner cylinders'B, said turretbeingnormally closed by a cover 6, bolted thereon.

A Eachtunnel-section is preferably provided at one end with anopen-topped flange extension U, which is adapted to receive and engagewith the adjacent end of the next section, such flange extension havingupwardlyextending sides, as-shown. This flange extension is ofsufilcient length to project beyond the end bulkhead of the nextsection,

and thus elfectually supports'the next secing the construction of thetunnel. v

The structure as above describedis substantially hermetically closed, sothat when placed in the water-it will permit little, if any, water toenter it. To overcome the enormous buoyancy or flotative efiect of sucha structure, we fill the space between the outer cylinder and the twoinner cylinders with "ce ment or cemented material of any suitable kind,and this is done, preferably, after the tion while the bulkheads are inplace and durtunnel-section has been launched or deposited in the water.The empty structure,which is comparatively light and may be handled andtransported with comparative case, is putinto the water and the cementor similar material V is passed in through an opening, (indicated at Gin Fig. 1,) which is made in the outer casing A, and communicates withthe space between the outer and inner tubes, and this filling process iscontinued until the structure is just awash, the parts being preferablyso proportioned that the space between the outer and inner tubes willthen be substantially full of cement. The section may thenbe closed by acap g on opening G.

Passing over for thepresent certain details of construction of thetunnel-sections, we will now'explai'n the manner in which the sectionsare laid in the bed of the river or other waterway to form a subaqueoustunnel.

I A ditch or channel is first dredged across the bottom of the waterway,this ditch being sufficiently deep and wide to receive thetunnebsections and depress same wholly or partly below the bed of thewaterway. Such aditch is indicated at 2 in Figs. Land 5. Thetunnel-sections are then towed one by one to positions over the ditchand sunk to their proper places therein, it being understood that thesections are upheld in the water by virtue of the fact that the innertubes B are filled only with air, and therefore buoy up the structure,so that by allowing a little water to flow into one end of these tubesby a valved or stoppered opening R that end is caused to pitchdownwardmore or less, and the structure then'sinks into the ditchaforesaid, its descent being regulated by any suitable means, as bysupport 25, depending by cables Y from barges X in Fig. 4, and operatedin well-known manner.

In order to bring the tunnel-sections into substantially exact alinementand facilitate the closingof the joints between the same, each sectionis, as above mentioned, provided with an open-topped extension or flangeU at one end, which receives and engages with the unflanged end of thenext succeeding section. Moreover, in order to insure such fittingtogether of the successive sections, which might beprevented bythe mudon the bottom of the waterway running over the edge of the flange U andclogging it up, we prefer to spread in those parts of the ditch wherethe joints'occur tarpaulins or similar flexible supports 0, as

indicated in Figs. 4 and 5, upon which the flanges U descend and rest.The flange U being thus protected and supported by the tarpaulin, theunflanged end of the next section on being lowered into the same isguided,

stopped, and supported in substantially exact alinement with thepreceding section both horizontally and vertically. It will beunderstood that as soon as suflicient water has been admitted into thesection to sink it the valved or stoppered opening B may be closed, andthe inner'tubes may thus be kept comparatively free from water. Thesections having been thuslaid in the ditch, the joints are closed bydepositing cement or concrete over the same, as shown at Z in Figs. 5and 6, the flanges or open-toppedextensions here serving the additionalpurpose of holding the cement i'n'co'ntaet with the joint. The cementbeing preferably hydraulic cement,the setting thereof will permanentlyclose the joint in the most efiectual manner. Mud or silt is thenscraped or dumped over the tunnel-sections and the. joints, so as tocompletely bury the same; The tunnel-sections s0 deposited are separatedfrom one another by the water-tight may both be directed toward theinside of the section, so that to remove the bulkheads access must beobtained to the inside of each section through its turret E. To effectthis a diving-bell may be lowered over the turret as indicated in Fig.7, and-a pipe, which leads from any suitable pump M or source ofcoinpressed air, is connected with the turret E, and compressedair isforced into thesection until the hydrostatic pressure due to the sinperincumbent water is overcome or equalled by the pressure within thesection. The cover 6 may then be unfastened and raised, and access maythus be gained to one of the inner tubes, which communicates with theother inner tube by one or more cross-passages N, which may be largeenough to permit the passage of a man through same.

While the ditch wherein the tunnel is laid may be'extended on each sidefrom the riverbed up through the river-bank to proper terminal points,we prefer to terminate the'tunnel at each end'as follows: The ditchhaving been for-med. to, nearly to, or somewhat beyond each bank of thewaterway and the timnel having been laid therein as abovedescribed, apermanent dam orvwall at, of masonry or its equivalent, is built overthe end of the tunnel, as shown in Fig. 10, and the line of the tunnelis then continued outwardly and upwardly by means of an open cut tosurface-level.

To facilitate ventilation and prevent undue air-pressure in the, tunnelin advance of trains moving rapidly therein, as well as to enablecommunication between the inner tubes 13, weprovide the openings orportsN between said tubes, and in order toprevent an accidental orintentionalflooding of one of the tubes from flooding the other tube wemay provide eachport with an automaticallyclosing door, suchasindicatedin Figs. 2 and 3, where T is a plate sliding vertically above and acrossthe opening N and L is a catch IIO ' seeder normally holding said platein a raised posi{ tion, so as to keep the port N open, said catch beingconnected to a lever Z in each cylinder 13, carrying a float Z, so thatwhen water gains access to either cylinder the catch is operated by thecorresponding float to trip the plate, which descends by its own weightand closes the opening,

It will beunderstood that when the tunnel has been laid and buried asheretofore described any water therein, including the water which wasallowed to flow in to sink it, may be pumped out, the weight of thesuperincumbent material and of the cement-filled structure beingsufficient to overcome the flotative effect due to the waterdisplacement.

. The inside of the tunnel may then be lined or patched wherevernecessary with cement or masonry to give it uniformity of outline,

and' by similar means a road-bed 7 may be formed in each of the innertubes. The weight of this road-bed and of the other accessories of apermanent way, such as rails 8, will further serve to weight thestructure, the intention being that the final dead-weight thereon shallbe considerably more than theflotative effect due to the waterdisplacement, 7

so as to eliminate any danger of uplifting of any part of the tunnel bythe vibration caused by passing vehicles. g

The modification shown in Figs. 8 and 9 is similar to the form abovedescribed, except that the flange extensions at the ends do not extendup beyond the cen tralhorizontal plane of the tunnel-section and areformed at each end of eachsection, being at the topat one end and at thebottom at the other end, so that on allowing the end with theoverhanging flange extension to drop over the end with theunder-extending flange extension the two sections will mutually overlap,as indicated in-Fig. 9, and a large and effective joint-surface will beformed. In any case the flange extension is a partial extension onlythatis, it only extends part way around the'end of the section, so as topermit of the sections being brought into engagement without being firstexactly alined. I

While we have described our improved construction of subaqueous tunnelwith especial reference to a tunnel with two inner tubes, it is apparentthat many of the features of construction, such as the flanged ends andthe general idea of inner and outer cylinders with intermediate cement,are applicable to tunnels with one inner tube.

The original tunnel-sections may,if desired,

be made of sufficient weight to slightly overbalance the flotativeeffect, so that they will tend to sink, in which case temporary means,such as pontoons, must be provided for supporting them on the surface ofthe water until the proper time for sinking them. They are then loweredinto place by their own weight, bein g groundedby guy-cables orotherwise from the pontoons. 1

The tunnel-lining may be of any suitable cemented material, such asconcrete, masonry, dzc.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is-

1. Atunne'l-section for subaqueous tunnels, comprising a tubularstructure with an end extension extending only partly around its end.

2. Atunnel-section forsubaqueous tunnels, comprising a tubular structureprovided with bulkheads near its end, and having an end extensionextending only partly around its end and extending beyond the bulkhead.

3. A subaqueous tunnel composed of sections, each section having anopen-topped extension at one end engaging with and receiving theadjacent end of the next section.

4. A subaqneous tunnel composed of sections each section having at oneend an opentopped' extension, with upwardly-extending sides, receivingand engaging with the adjacent end of the next section.

5. A subaqueous tunnel comprising a casin g, two tunnel-ways formedtherein and'communicating with one another by openings, doors forclosing said openings, and means for closing said doors automaticallywhen the water enters either tunnel-way.

v 6. A snbaqueous tunnel composed of a number ofsections, a flexiblesupport placed under the joints between the sections and a covering ofcement placed over the joints.

, 7. A subaqueous tunnel composed of a number of sections, each sectionhaving an opentopped flange extension, with upwardly-extending sideswhich receive the adjacent end of the next section, a covering of cementplaced over the joint and received and held by ICO saidupwardly-extending sides of the flange extensions. 7

8. In a subaqueous tunneLthe combination of adjacent sections, eachhaving a partial extension extending over and partly surrounding the endof the other section, and extending only partly around the section end.

9. In a subaqueous tunnel,the combination of adjacent sections, one ofwhich has a bottom extension at one end, projecting beyond the top ofsaid section and engaging with the adjacent section.

10. In a subaqueous tunnel, the combination of two adjacent sections,each of which has a semitubular extension adapted to engage with the endof the other section.

11. A construction forsubaqueous tunnels, comprising two adjacenttunnel-sections each having an interior bulkhead near its end, ofextensions from one section overlapping and partly surrounding theadjacent section and extending beyond the bulkhead therein.

LEWIS NIXON. WALTER H. KNIGHT.-

Witnesses:

M. V. Brnooon, J. GREEN.

